1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display control device which can be used for a display device such as a meter unit of a vehicle, and more particularly, to a technique for appropriately controlling the arrangement state of display elements such as measuring instruments.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a meter unit having various kinds of measuring instruments such as a speedometer and an engine tachometer are provided as display devices in front of the driver's seat of a vehicle. In recent years, a meter unit often uses a display device such as a liquid crystal display capable of graphic display. More specifically, a measuring instrument is graphically displayed by associating a combination of pixel groups in a particular area among many display pixels constituting a screen of a display with various display patterns such as an indicating needle and a scale of a measuring instrument.
A conventional technique of a meter unit for a vehicle that employs a graphic display is, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-153116. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-153116 suggests such technique that, when display aspects such as a display size and a display position of an image of each measuring instrument in the meter unit are changed, the display contents before and after the change can be easily recognized.
By the way, for example, in order to improve the visibility of a display content, a meter unit for a vehicle needs to effectively reduce light coming from the outside such as sunlight incident upon the display screen. Therefore, for example, an exterior component having a light blocking effect may be provided to encircle the periphery of the display screen of the meter unit.
In some cases, in order to make a specially designed meter unit, for example, an exterior component in a shape covering the entire display screen may be provided, and opening portions may be made in the exterior component in such a manner that only the measuring instruments of the meter unit are exposed through the opening portions. In this case, a user such as a driver can see the measuring instruments through the opening portions of the exterior component. The periphery of each measuring instrument is covered with the exterior component.
However, when an exterior component is formed, the position of an opening portion may deviate from a design value. When the main body and the exterior component of the meter unit are attached to the vehicle body, the positions thereof may deviate relatively from each other. When such deviation in terms of position occurs, the position of each measuring instrument displayed at the position exposed in the opening portion of the exterior component may deviate relatively in the horizontal direction or in the vertical direction with respect to the designed state. As a result, the measuring instrument display position may deviate from the exterior component, and the measuring instrument is displayed in such state that the balance of the position is unnatural in the entire device. Alternatively, a part of the displayed measuring instrument may be covered with the peripheral portion of the opening portion of the exterior component and cannot be seen.
When the deviation in terms of position occurs as explained above, a worker finely adjusts the attachment position of the exterior component and the like in conventional techniques. However, when the deviation in terms of position and the distortion is relatively high, or the deviation in terms of position and the distortion occurs only in some of multiple measuring instruments, the adjustment cannot be made, and the malfunction of display of the measuring instrument cannot be solved. Therefore, for example, in some cases, the exterior component has to be replaced with another component. The deviation in terms of position and the distortion occurs in different manners depending on the exterior components. Therefore, the yield of the exterior components may be reduced, or additional replacing work is required, or physical adjustment work is required, which results in the increase of the production cost.